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Question 9: Priests are ordained by the order of Melchizedek. Who is Melchizedek, and why are priests ordained by this order?
Answer: Melchizedek was the king of Salem (later Jerusalem) and a priest of God who offered bread and wine as an unbloody sacrifice in thanksgiving for Abraham’s victory over the four eastern kings (Genesis 14:18-20). Because he was a type of Christ (both are kings and priests who offer bread and wine to God), an antiphon in the rite of ordination for a priest reads: “Christ the Lord, a priest forever in the line of Melchizedek, offered bread and wine.” See also Paul’s letter to the Hebrews for his comment on the link between Melchizedek and Jesus.
In the Eucharistic Prayer of the Mass, the priest prays that God will accept his offerings just as He once accepted “the bread and wine offered by your priest Melchizedek.”
